The day before you came
by Cyrrer
Summary: Heeros life is quite organized. He has his daily routines and he never takes any risks. Can a chance acquaintanceship change this?


**Author: **Laren aka Cyrrer

**Title:** The day before you came

**Category:** A/U-Alternate Universe, Romance

**Rating:** PG-14

**Beta thanks: **to Zanna and Jukebox. You are the bests

**Story Summary:** Heeros life is quite organized. He has his daily routines and he never takes any risks. Can a chance acquaintanceship change this?  
One of my favourite songs from **ABBA "The day before you came"** was the source of inspiration for this story. I hope that I was able to capture the emotions this song always provokes in me, when I hear it.

**

* * *

**

Like every other day the alarm clock went off at seven in the morning. At the second tone, Heero had already raised his hand to turn off the alarm. He yawned shortly and after that pulled himself out of bed. After all, there was no reason for him to stay in bed.

When he stood, he stretched a bit and yawned once more. After that he took the clothes he had selected the evening before and went into the bathroom.

Efficiently he finished his morning bathroom ritual before he went into his little kitchen. With well practised movements which were memorized by heart he prepared his usual breakfast - a big mug of coffee, one glass orange juice and a bowl with cereal. Just like any other day.

He didn't even sit down at the small dining table – this would have been just too much effort. Instead he leaned over the sink unit shoving one spoon of cereal after the other into his mouth and looking absentmindedly out of the small kitchen window. He never really noticed anything outside his window and wasn't even interested in seeing what went on in the world. It was simply habit, and an effective way to check the weather. It was raining again. He would have to take an umbrella with him today.

He drank the rest of his orange juice with one big swallow a bare ten minutes later. After that he briefly rinsed the dishes and put them into the dishwasher. With one last glance he made sure that the kitchen was all tidy before he left the room.

In the corridor he went directly to the coat rack, put some shoes on and selected the blue jacket. It wasn't winter any more but the temperature was not that high either. After that he fetched his well prepared backpack and the umbrella and was ready for take off. Like every morning he only had needed around half an hour from waking up until leaving his apartment. No surprise there, after all everything was well planned and trained.

At half past seven he left his flat. He closed his entrance door and secured it well with several safety locks. He lived in a good neighbourhood, but one could never be too cautious. And he didn't like to take any chances.

His flat was on the second floor of an apartment building. Like any other day Heero didn't use the elevator and took the stairs instead. When he reached the street he opened the umbrella and made a turn to the left. He had roughly ten minutes to march until the railway station. The very good strategic location was one of the main advantages of his apartment and had been one of the reasons why he had chosen to live there.

There were lots of hectic activities at the railway station. But Heero knew his way. He didn't need to orientate, he knew on which platform his train would start. And without glancing at the station-clock he also knew that he had around seven minutes until the departure. This left him with plenty of time to buy the latest issue of his computer magazine at the kiosk.

He wondered sometimes why he hadn't subscribed to the magazine. It would be delivered to his home and he wouldn't have to do anything about it. But he never got around to doing so. Now after all this time he thought that it would be kind of impolite towards the old man who worked at the kiosk. And he was used to buying it there. It was one of his routines.

Holding the magazine in his hand he walked on the platform. He barely reached his usual waiting point when the train stopped in the station. There always were lots of reports in the media about the public transportation – especially about their punctuality. But Heero almost never had any problems with this particular line. During the last year it only had been around five times that the train had arrived delayed. It went like a Swiss Clockwork. Heero liked this accuracy a lot.

His station was the second one on the track, and that was the reason why most of the seats were still unoccupied. In general, this special train was almost never cramped. Most of the people who commute to the big city took the train half an hour later. This left the commuters of this train with near blissful peace. Oh, the train would fill up with people until they reached the big city, never the less it was only on rare occasions that one of the commuters had to share a seat with another. Again, this was something Heero appraised.

Heero was lucky, his usual seat was free. With a few fast steps he reached the seat and sat down, placing his backpack on the seat near him to make sure that nobody would try to sit beside him. He had just finished with making himself comfortable and opened his magazine when the train started to move.

The ride would take nearly half an hour and Heero liked this time very much. His colleagues had been appalled when he bought his condo so far away from the big city. They had argued about the long distance and all the time he would need to drive back and forth.

But Heero had another view of things. Yes, his condo wasn't near his working place. But with this fast train he travelled – including the walking distance - one hour back and one hour forth. Some of his colleagues who lived in the city needed the same amount of time just to reach work. And he liked to take the train. He could have afforded a car easily but it was much more relaxing to ride by train. And it gave him the opportunity to read something. A book, or like today a magazine. Sometimes he also took his notebook with him to get some of his work done. He didn't think of the time in the train as wasted.

On the outskirts of the big city he was able to afford a much nicer and bigger condo. This was a big advantage. Now he had a really nice and spacious study for all of his computers – his one and only passion.

The rain poured against the windows. Heero took a look outside. Everything was grey. The clouds hid the sun and one couldn't see ten feet away. Heero shook his head and tried to concentrate again on the article he had been reading. They'd had this bad weather for weeks. His colleagues were complaining that this was not right for springtime. They said that they missed the sun. But Heero didn't understand all of these complaints. After all, there was no bad weather, only inadequate clothing. And he never understood the excitement about spring anyway. It was just another season. That was all there was to say about it.

Besides, during his office hours he had no reason to think about the outside weather anyway. The offices had a constant temperature due to the blessings of the climate control technology.

He had just finished his article when the train arrived at the main station. During the last half hour more people got into the train and they all wanted to get out now. But Heero didn't even notice this. He closed his magazine and put it into his backpack. Then he stood up and left the train.

He had to walk roughly ten minutes to reach his work place. At half past eight he entered the company building. After he left the security check behind he took the elevator to the forth floor, turning right as soon as he exited. He made a short stop at the coffee corner to fetch a bottle with mineral water and a mug of coffee, after which he finally headed to his office. He greeted everyone he passed by on his way with a short but friendly nod. But he never stopped for some small talk, like his colleagues.

When he finally reached his office he put the beverages on his table, logged himself into the company-network, and removed his jacket while his computer loaded. These little procedures were well trained and polished too. So that Heero was able to do everything in the most efficient way.

With a little sigh Heero sat down and started to work. He'd had an office of his own for two years now, and he liked it a lot. He was seldom disturbed and he could arrange everything in the office as he saw fit.

He had been working for this company for six years now, starting directly after getting his degree. He had studied computer sciences and had been hired to work as a designer. He had loved his work and would have made a big career in the technical field. There had been some plans to train him to become a trouble shooter.

However, when he had the opportunity to apply for the position as a quality coordinator, he had taken it. And as it turned out, this was his true calling. This was what fit his personality and his skills best. He loved to work according to fixed plans. He gathered figures, made statistics and analyzed everything. And he invented new ways to make their software more efficient and less faulty.

Unlike the quality coordinator before him, Heero really knew the technical side very well. Nobody needed to lead him up the garden path.

Heero glanced at his table calendar. Today was one of the rare days where he didn't have any meetings. This meant he could work all day without being disturbed by anyone. He adjusted his chair and started typing on the keyboard.

The first time Heero got disturbed was when one of his colleagues entered his office a few minutes before noon and asked him if he wanted to join for lunch. Heero sighed, but he accepted the offer. He logged off his computer monitor almost reluctantly and left his office.

If he had his way, he would not leave his office during lunch break. He would just eat some home prepared sandwiches and do some reading or surfing on the internet. He didn't see the advantage of eating together with his colleagues. The canteen-food often was very bad, and it felt like a waste of time to spent forty-five minutes with his colleagues, being exposed to all their private chit-chat.

But the management of his company was very fond of the thing called team-spirit. And he got a lot of complaints that he drew himself away from the other team-members, that he never participated at the social events and that he had no private contacts with the others.

At first Heero got angry about this. He didn't think that management had a right to interfere with his free time. After all, he didn't get paid for it. But when the complaints didn't stop and he wasn't able to convince his bosses, he just gave in. He didn't want to have a reputation as an obstructionist. And so he took the way of least resistance. That was the reason why he joined his colleagues for lunch, even if he didn't want to.

This lunch break went just as all the others. The food was barely edible and his colleagues talked about private stuff. For days now they only had one main topic of conversation - how the ongoing rain disturbed the joyful springtime feeling. Heero couldn't care less.

He didn't really listen to all of this because he wasn't interested in these kinds of conversations. In general he was more the silent shadow of the group and never really participated in anything. But his colleagues got used to it over the years. They knew that he would only lighten up a bit when they dragged him to the movies or playing darts. But this was it.

In the beginning they had tried to pull him into the group; had invited him to their homes and even tried to set him up with someone. But he always had declined and graced them with his patented death glare. In the meantime his colleagues had learned their lessons and left him alone. This was what he always had wanted. His life was good in the way it was. He didn't need any changes or excitements. And he didn't want them.

The afternoon went in the same pace as the morning. No further interruptions came and he was able to finish a lot of his tasks. It was a very productive day and when Heero closed down his computer at half past five he did it with the sense of achievement. Pleased with himself he walked to the train station.

Like all the other commuters who took this train he was waiting patiently at platform seven for the arrival. Heero shoved through the crowed to reach his favourite location. But he didn't need to wait for long because the train arrived on schedule once more.

In the evenings the wagons were a bit more crowded then in the mornings. Nevertheless Heero was able to get a seat of his own. He had just made himself at home and pulled out his magazine when something hit his shoulder with a loud thud. Heero scowled in outrage when he looked up and said, "Hey!" to no one in particular. Such behaviour should not be allowed.

"Oooops, I'm sorry," a male voice provided. "I flipped around too fast and didn't think about the fact that my braid needs a gun licence."

Heero stared in confusion at the guy who stood in the aisle, holding an incredibly long braid in his hands. Had that thing hit him? He traced the braid up to a masculine face, and was immediately captured by two brilliant violet eyes. The colour was unusual enough that for a moment, Heero lost himself within those shining orbs. When he realized the other man was staring back at him expectantly, a hint of amusement twinkling in those gem-like eyes, he frowned and turned his head. It was crystal clear that the whole incident was only an accidental slip and as the guy had excused himself there was nothing more to say.

"Hn," was Heero's only response. From the corner of his eyes he saw how the orbs of the other man widened in surprise, but after that Heero faded out his surroundings. If he always created a big scene when something like that happened, he would be aggravated all the time. And never be able to relax.

A few moments later he had forgotten the whole incident. Half an hour later the train reached his home station and Heero hurried out of the wagon. He went straightway to his apartment complex. He didn't need to do grocery shopping today – this he would do as always on the next day, and therefore he didn't need to stop at any of the stores on his way home.

When he finally entered his flat, he didn't linger but took his sport bag, fetched something to drink and left the apartment again. He would have liked to take a bicycle tour through the nearby forest, but it was still raining. So instead, he headed to his gym.

He had become a member of this fitness studio because it was very well equipped and only two blocks away from his apartment complex. If he was not able to ride his bicycle or go swimming, he went to the gym to exercise for one and a half hours. After all, he only had an office job; he needed to keep himself in shape.

But unlike most of the other gym members he was only interested in doing his sport. For sure, during the winter months he also enjoyed the usage of the sauna, but he really wanted to train his body; not lounge at the bar. For some of these people the only purpose was to show off their sports wear and to do small talk with the other members. Heero knew for a fact that a lot of the members used this place as a kind of dating agency and flirted with everyone. But Heero scared them away with his death glare in no time. And so he was left alone most of the time.

After he finished his exercises Heero felt beaten but good. He didn't take the direct route to his home but turned into a small side road. It was nearly eight o'clock and he didn't want to prepare dinner so late. Fortunately there was a very good Chinese restaurant where he could fetch some take away.

With a portion of his favourite dish he finally went home. He placed the food on his dining table and disposed his sportswear into the laundry basket. Once everything was tidy he got himself something to drink and took his dinner to the living room, switching on the TV to watch the news while he ate his meal. After he was finished he cleared the table and went to his study, where he started one of his computers to surf a bit in the internet, and maybe play a few hours. He had purchased a new game a few weeks ago and was still fascinated with it. This evening went on like any other.

Close to midnight he was able to stop the game and closed down his computer. He yawned. He would have liked to play some more, even being tired as he was, but he had to go to work tomorrow and couldn't afford to stay awake for much longer.

He prepared himself for bed and selected the clothes he wanted to wear the next day. After that he finally lay down on his bed. The rain still poured against his windows, making a good background noise while he read a chapter in a book – a science fiction novel. But he really was tired and therefore he switched off the lights very soon and tried to sleep.

This had been a very pleasant day. Everything had gone the way Heero had wanted. His routines had worked pretty well. It was perfect. Just the way Heero liked it.

But just before he dozed off, some memory flickers were running through his mind. For an unknown reason he saw long hair and amethyst eyes. But these dreamlike sequences didn't last long and Heero finally fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning was an exact copy of the day before. Even the weather was the same. Again Heero rose early and took the train at a quarter before eight. He had just sat down, when someone ran down the aisle creating a lot of noise. Heero looked up and was able to see a tip of a swinging braid, just before the attached body disappeared into the next wagon.

Heero instantly knew that it was the same guy as yesterday evening. This amazed him a bit. Usually he didn't pay any attention to the commuters; after all they had nothing in common besides taking the same train. Heero shook his head and tried to concentrate again on his book. He was close to the end of the novel and it was getting pretty exciting.

Work was all right too. In the morning he had a lot of meetings, but in the afternoon he was able to hole up behind his computer monitor once more. One of his projects was close to the milestone eight, and he had to analyze a lot of figures before the due date.

Nevertheless he finished his work once more at half past five and headed towards the train station. While he was waiting for the arrival of the train he made a mental list of all the groceries he had to buy this evening. He needed fresh milk and more cereal. He wanted to cook something today, as well. Maybe soup or something. Then he would just relax afterwards. One of his colleagues had lent him some DVDs, so he should be able to find something interesting to watch.

Heero was so caught in his thoughts that he was one of the last commuters who entered the train. And he directly regretted his slip. All the good seats were already occupied. The only seats left were those few clusters where the rows faced one another, creating a suite-like section for four travellers to sit together.

If he didn't want to sit beside another commuter from the start, he had to take his chance with one of these suites. Only if everything else failed would Heero take one of these seats. The risk that someone would share this suite was very high. But he also knew from experience that he wouldn't find a better seating in the other wagons. He sighed deeply and took a seat in driving direction. Maybe he would be lucky today?

But just as he took his book out of his backpack, he heard a loud thud and from the corner of his eye he could see that someone had dropped onto the opposite seat. Heero knew that it was mistake, but his eyes moved involuntarily to this person.

And what he could see left him frozen. It was the guy with the long braid from yesterday, and he was grinning like a fool. Heero frowned and wanted to bury himself into his book, when the guy started to speak, "Hey, nice to meet you again. It seems that we have the same train schedule." The smile on the other man's face was so wide, Heero was sure that it went far beyond his ears.

"Hn!" commented Heero. Why did the guy talk to him? Wasn't it bad enough that the guy pestered him? Heero opened his book.

"I moved to the outskirts two weeks ago. And I'm still trying to adapt myself to this big change. Now I always take the train. And I see you every time. I really think we have the same time schedule."

"Hn!" answered Heero again. He was amazed that the guy was so enthralled by the fact that they took the same train. What was so remarkable about this fact? It only showed that they lived in the same area and had the same working times. No big surprise there. And Heero wondered why the guy kept on babbling so much? Just because they sat vis-à-vis didn't mean that they had to have a conversation. Heero looked pointedly into his book.

But the other man didn't get the hint. Suddenly Heero noticed that his book was pressed up a bit. And Heero realized that the guy did this to be able to read the title of the book. This while Heero was reading it!

"Oh, that's an amazing book. I just finished it a few weeks before. No wonder you're so focused on it. It's rather enthralling at the end." While saying this, the man grinned again at Heero. His eyes gleamed in an awesome amethyst light.

Now that his opponent got the hint and knew that Heero wanted to read, Heero hoped that he finally could get his quiet and peace. But this hope was crashed instantly, as the longhaired man didn't stop speaking.

"Don't you think that this weather just sucks? It's been raining for weeks now. I think we all are allowed to get depressed about such bad weather. It doesn't feel like spring at all. But the weather forecast is promising. The only question is if we can trust this bunch of liars."

"Hn!" Maybe the other would understand that Heero didn't want to chit-chat with him if he declined any eye contact? Could be worth a try, but Heero wasn't able to move his eyes away. The other man's smile just made Heero want to see it. In addition, it was kind of entertaining to watch the guy playing with the end of his braid while he was babbling.

"Oh, excuse me if I'm bothering you, but you know if I don't speak for more than twenty minutes, my head will explode. Or at least, this is what all my friends are convinced of. And I think nobody truly wants to check if it's true or not. Name is Duo Maxwell by the way." The guy put forth his hand in Heero's direction.

Heero knew that it would be beyond impolite if he didn't answer in kind. Just why was he always stuck with the madman? Was this some kind of world wide conspiracy? He sighed and shook hands with the man. "Heero Yuy," was his reply.

The other man grinned again. "Heero, that's a rare name. But it's fitting. I'm happy to meet you Heero Yuy. And like I already said we do take the same train every day. Maybe we should stick together? These rides are more exciting if one has someone to speak to. And this would help me to not explode."

"Hn!" Heero answered again and frantically thought about all his possibilities. Maybe he should take the train half an hour earlier? If this Duo guy decided to stick to him like a limpet, he would never again have a peaceful ride. How could he read with this noisy person around? This would confound everything.

"Oh by the way," said Duo suddenly and interrupted Heero's thoughts. "As I'm still very unfamiliar with my new home, could you recommend some nice restaurants?" He looked at Heero with big, shining eyes and ceaselessly played with his braid.

Heero thought about the only two restaurants he knew. But both were decent and he liked them. "Maybe," he said.

Duo nearly beamed with joy. "Great. And maybe you'll want to join me going there? Maybe this evening? Or is someone waiting for you at home?"

Suddenly Heero knew the name of the game. Duo was flirting with him. This was happening right now. Panic raised in Heero. Oh, this wasn't the first time someone flirted with him. And he didn't have any problems with the fact that Duo was a guy, far from it. But even if he couldn't exactly put his finger on it, he just knew that Duo would mean trouble. Chaos even. All his well trained routines would falter. Nothing would ever be perfect again. Everything would get disarranged.

The part of Heero that thrived for order and quiet protested at the mere thought of this chaos. It argued that Heero should never engage himself in this madness. He couldn't go out for dinner this evening. He had to go shopping and do laundry. He couldn't change his plans just because of this chance acquaintance. His life was just perfect as it was. Who needed a chaotic, loudmouth baka? This part of Heero demanded that he should set Duo straight. He should tell the man in no uncertain terms that he was not interested. After that he could enjoy his perfect life once again.

But there was another part in Heero. A part he hadn't listened to in quite some time, but it raised its voice now. This part realized how beautiful this Duo was. And that his smile was contagious. Heero observed that his corner of the mouth went up, even if he didn't have any particular reason to laugh.

And just in this moment of truth, Heero finally realized something terrifying. His life was not perfect. It never had been. It was no life at all. He had just existed, without any highs or lows. He always was too afraid to risk anything, to abandon his routines. And now he was more afraid to do so than ever before. But he also didn't want to slip back into this perfect existence. He wanted more – whatever that was. And he knew he had to risk everything to get this. These thoughts frightened him. But beside these shaking insights he also had the feeling that if there was one person in the whole wide world who could help free him out of the grey it was this guy in front of him.

But could Heero really risk engaging with this affair? Yes, Duo was flirting with him but where would it lead? What did Duo want? Just a night, or more? Or nothing all together? And if Duo wanted more, what if it didn't work out? Heero knew that he wasn't the easiest guy around. What if he opened up to Duo just to get hurt? Could he go back to his former living after such a big disappointment? Wouldn't it be better to just not risk this? To leave everything be?

All these confusing thoughts ran through Heero's head and fought a heavy war. Nevertheless his decision was made in just a fraction of a second.

It wouldn't be easy but he had to try. He just had to. He, the one who never took any unnecessary risk, would take this chance. Because if he didn't he surely would regret it for the rest of his miserable life. And this fact was for sure.

"No, there is nobody waiting," answered Heero. And even if this seemed impossible, Duo's smile deepened at this response. "And I know a very nice Chinese restaurant. It's nothing special, but the food is very good. If you like we could just go there."

"I'd love to," Duo agreed. His smile pleased Heero. He knew that they had a long and hard way in front of them. They were so unlike each other, there would be fights and anger. But compared to the monotony which had ruled Heero's life until now, it had to be an improvement. He would risk his peace and if Duo was willing, this might result in something bigger, something beautiful.

Suddenly the grey sky cleared and some rays of sun found their way to the ground. It was enough to enlighten the world. Suddenly it felt like the colours were back and Heero could have sworn that he even saw birds flying. And for the first time in his life Heero really knew what other people liked about springtime. This was a time of joy – a time of love. He would take this as kind of an omen. His decision was the right one. He just knew it. And Heero smiled.


End file.
